With the advent of computer networking today, it is quite easy for several communication devices to communicate via a wired or a wireless network or system. These communication devices communicate with each other using various wired or wireless protocols to exchange data or other media over one or more communication channels in the network. The communication channels typically have a fixed bandwidth and, therefore, can only support a limited amount of media. In some applications such as social networking (e.g., Instant Messaging applications), public safety, or applications for accomplishing a specific task, the communication devices may report (referred to in the art as “publishing” and also referred to herein as “updating”), to a central network entity (referred to in the art as a presence server), status or presence information of presentities or users of the communication devices. The central network entity “notifies” other users in the system (referred to in the art as “watchers”) who have subscribed to the central network entity to receive this presence information. The presence information can include information such as location of the communication device, current operation being performed by the device, availability of a user of the device, and the like.
In the network, each of the communication devices consumes a part of channel bandwidth and other network resources to transmit the presence information to the central network entity. Thus, frequent updates of the presence information from a large number of devices may congest the network and lead to non-optimal use of the network resources. Moreover, as presence grows in importance, there is a danger that it could use a disproportionate share of network resources, especially in situations where the capacity of a network is limited, for example, for narrowband systems, at the edge of network coverage for broadband technologies, or at cell sites that support a large numbers of users.
Thus, there exists a need for a method and system for updating presence information for a plurality of presentities that minimizes the use of network resources.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve understanding of various embodiments. In addition, the description and drawings do not necessarily require the order illustrated. It will be further appreciated that certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. Apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the various embodiments so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein. Thus, it will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, common and well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment may not be depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments.